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OPINION

Court ruling victory for the working class

David Hunter, the Knoxville News Sentinel
Published 12:00 a.m. ET April 5, 2016

Because of a divided U.S. Supreme Court, a case that would have crippled labor unions in America was recently left standing. Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association dealt with whether a union could collect a fee for services carried out on behalf of workers who have chosen not to join a union.

Non-members currently do not have to pay for union lobbying or political activities, but are assessed a percentage of the dues paid by members in an amount that covers the cost of negotiating wages, leave policies and grievance procedures that benefit everyone. Because of the 4-4 decision, the Supreme Court's original 1977 decision upholding such fair-share fees remains intact.

Progressives could not have hoped for a better outcome and owe what they see as their victory to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's refusal to hold hearings on any Supreme Court nominee put forth by President Barack Obama as part of a vow to wait for the next president to make the appointment.

In a nutshell, pro-union people see the union movement as the driving force of the 20th-century middle class, and anti-union forces — known as capitalists for lack of a better word — see unionism as meddling in the affairs of people who put up the money to found companies and corporations. Capitalists want to keep as much money as they can and unionists want what they see as a fair share of enterprises that could not exist without their labor.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries workers often put in six-day, 12-hour work weeks with no benefits. Many of the workers were children. With the rise of labor unions — a bloody conflict in which the government more often than not sided with the capitalists — companies and corporations were forced to recognize unions, which demanded better wages, benefits and shorter hours. Everyone in America today who works a 40-hour week with insurance benefits and a paid vacation can thank unions.

The war against unions never ended, though, and unions are losing the battle to people like Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a rabid anti-union man and a notorious union buster.

Large labor unions did their part bringing the union movement to a virtual halt because power corrupts and their leaders, in many cases, succumbed to the corruption of power. But the good that collective bargaining has done for working people far outweighs the excesses.

Nothing remains static, however. Generation Y and Generation X — those born around 1980 or just before — probably won't make as much money as their parents and grandparents. When they realize why wages have not kept up with profits and their anger boils over, the pendulum will swing back again and there will be a resurgence of labor unions.

The young people who see themselves as rugged individuals, beholden to nobody, will eventually come to understand that "united we stand, divided we fall" applies to classes of Americans as well as the nation itself.

If you don't believe a class system exists in this country, you belong to the class that has not suffered a degradation of wages, a larger share of taxes and exorbitant bank loans tied to crippling indebtedness for education costs over the last 30 years.

Read or Share this story: https://www.knoxnews.com/story/opinion/columnists/david-hunter/2016/04/05/court-ruling-victory-for-the-working-class/90892466/